Rise of the robots, genetics to eliminate more than 5 million jobs, World Economic Forum research claims

nnttttt

LONDON – Over 5 million jobs will be lost by 2020 as a result of developments in genetics, artificial intelligence, robotics and other technological change, according to World Economic Forum research.

About 7 million jobs will be lost and 2 million gained as a result of technological change in 15 major developed and emerging economies, WEF founder Klaus Schwab and managing board member Richard Samans said in “The Future of Jobs.” The findings are taken from a survey of 15 economies covering about 1.9 billion workers, or about 65 percent of the world’s total workforce.

n

The blurred lines between physical, digital and biological spheres amount to a “fourth Industrial Revolution,” according to the WEF, which will address the idea as the ideaat its annual meeting of policy makers, academics and economists in Davos, Switzerland. It’s already a hot topic thanks in part to books such as “The Second Machine Age” and “The Rise of The Robots,” while Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane has warned that the millions of jobs at risk from automation are creating issues officials need to address.

“To prevent a worst-case scenario — technological change accompanied by talent shortages, mass unemployment and growing inequality — reskilling and upskilling of today’s workers will be critical,” the authors said. “It is simply not possible to weather the current technological revolution by waiting for the next generation’s workforce to become better prepared.”

Administrative and office jobs will account for two-thirds of the losses, with “routine white-collar office functions at risk of being decimated,” and there will be gains in computer, mathematical, architecture and engineering-related fields. Women will be disproportionately hit by the changes because of their low participation in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The countries covered by the survey included Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S.

“It is critical that businesses take an active role in supporting their current workforces through retraining, that individuals take a proactive approach to their own lifelong learning and that governments create the enabling environment, rapidly and creatively, to assist these efforts,” the authors said.

ntnttnttntntnttnttntntnttnttntnnnt

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

ntSUBSCRIBE NOWnnnntnttKEYWORDSntntjobs, robotsnn n n tn tttt